Remembering 69'
1969, the year the Mets won their first World Series, but it was more than that, it was a reason to come to that dump called Shea (but it was our dump), it was a reason for people to stop and listen, or watch when the Mets were on, it was a reason that we, even though we did not have Babe Ruth, or Lou Gherig, or Mickey Mantle, had secured a place as one of the greatest in the history of baseball, as did the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. It was the year when names like Tom Seaver and Tug McGraw, and Jerry Koosman, and Tommy Agee and Cleon Jones, all became the Mets great playes, the men who led them toa championship. It was the year we coined the phrase: Amazin, and a few years later a similar group of players coined: Ya Gotta Believe (that is a Mets thing, not Phillies).
It was an amazing season where the Mets who had finished last, last, last, last, second to last, last, and second to last, had become a team that you did not want to play, led by rookie Tom Seaver, and other pitchers such as Tug McGraw, Nolan Ryan, and Jerry Koosman, and position players such as Cleon Jones, Tommy Agee, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, and finally Ed Kranepool, the alltime Mets hit leader. This team went 100-62, and in the first year of division play, won the National League East. By beating out the Cubs and Pirates by a substantial amount of games, and I guess you could call them: Amazin'.
In the Championship Series they would have to surprise the World even more by beating the Braves, who although they only had 93 regular season wins, had all-time greats such as Orlando Cepeda, Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Neikro, Hank Aaron, Dusty Baker, and Felipe Alou, elthough not all-time greats were good players. Remember back then it was only a 5 game series, so the Mets only had to get 3 without letting Atlanta get 3 first, so it could benifit them, or it could hurt them, I would say it benifited them, as they swept Atlanta, game 1 was a 9-5 Met wins, the starting pitchers were Tom Seaver, and Phil Niekro, Seaver got the win and Niekro the loss, the Mets offense was clutch, scoring 5 in the 8th, with singles and doubles and errors, so the Mets took game 1. Game 2 was a 11-6 Mets victory, with Ron Taylor getting the win, and Ron Reed getting the loss, and Tug McGraw the save, the Mets were up 2-0 going into game 3 at Shea, it seemed over, and it was. In game 3 the Mets started Nolan Ryan, against the Braves' Pat Jarvis, and Ryan got the win and Jarvis the loss, with a 7-4 Mets victory, the offense was lead by Wayne Garret's clutch go ahead home run in the fifth, and that would have been enough, but the tacked on two more to win 7-4.
In the World Series the Mets had to face the even better Orioles, who had defensive whiz Brooks Robinson at third, and heavy hitting Boog Powell, and Frank Robinson, with pitchers Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, and Dave McNally. In game 1 the Mets played Baltimore at Memorial Stadium, and in the all important game 1 they lost 4-1, as they had trouble getting to Cuellar, as they did not score until the seventh on a sac-fly from Al weis, the Orioles got a lead0off homer from Don Baylor off of Tom Seaver, and their three runs in the fifth from signles and doubles, including Mike Cuellar. Game 2 was also at Memorial Stadium, but it had a different outcome, as the Mets won it 2-1 on the back of Koosman's brilliant, and might I add clutch pitching performance (he had a no-no in the 7th), offensively they scored the runs in the fourth on a Don Clendenon solo home run, and then in the ninth to give them a 2-1 lead from back-to back-to back singles from Ed Charles, Jerry Grote, and Al Weis. In Game 3 the Mets got to HOFer Jim Palmer quickly, as Tommy Agee hit a lead off homer to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, at home. He also made maybe the greatest catch in Mets history, up their with Endy Chavez, to save at least 5 runs. The Mets would get 4 more in the game, but did not need it as Gary Genty was Amazin' throwing a shutout. Game 4 was a turning point in the series, the Mets up 2-1 on the powerhouse Orioles, people were still counting them out, but man oh man would they come up HUGE today. Tom Seaver pitched brilliantly, allowing only one run, and the Mets would only get one run on a Don Clendenon solo homer, until the 10th that is. in the tenth inning the Mets got a lead-off double out of Jerry Grote, followed by an IBB to Al Weis. First and second no outs, and up came Jc Martin who bunted it, and in one of the most dramatic blown calls ever, up their with Don Denkinger, the throw hit him in the arm allowing Grote to score and the Mets win game 4, going up 3-1 in the series, and with one more left at Shea the Mets could get it at home. In game 5 the Mets starer was Koosman, who allowed 3 runs in the 3rd on a Dave McNally (he was the pitcher) two run homer and a Frank Robinson solo dinger. In the 6th the Mets would start the comeback, getting two runs, and the controversial call where Cleon Jones was hit in the foot with a pitch, and Gil Hodges proved it by showing the umpire the shoe polish, which was promptly followed by a Don Clendenon (who won, and rightfully so thew series MVP) a two run homer, Mets are back in it 3-2. In the 7th they would tie it up on a Al Weis would hit one of the biggest hits in the history of the Mets franchise with a game tying solo homer, and he had a career total of 7 in the regular season. Then in the 8th the Mets would take the lead, and take they would on a Ron Swoboda double, and an error by Boog Powell, and the Mets would go on from their to win the first title in the history of their franchise.
